Formula 1 returned to Singapore for the only night race on the calendar, under 1,600 custom-made floodlights and the darkened skies of the city-state.
After racing on the classic European tracks of Spa and Monza, the 2013 season now heads east for a number of fly-away races in Asia. The first of which is Singapore, a unique race around a similarly unique circuit.
Check out my preview of the Singapore Grand Prix for an in-depth look at the race weekend, track and expectations. Also, be sure to have a read of my One Year Rewind looking back at last years race and my '5 things you didn't know about the Singapore Grand Prix' post for Car Throttle. Photography fans, take a look at my favourite images from the race weekend and for all the driver reaction, go here.
With a 3.152 mile street circuit and 23 corners to tackle, the Marina Bay Street Circuit is a challenge for even the best of drivers. Under the stars, round 13 of the Formula 1 world championship got underway with some explosive on-track action.
FP1
The first practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend started off in a rather quiet fashion. The action soon got underway under the darkening evening skies, but fans had to wait over half an hour for the first timed lap.
Sergio Perez was the first driver to set a lap time with a 1m53.253. The McLaren driver continued to chip away at his best time before Maldonado, Bottas and Webber all taking turns at the front.
Hamilton then moved to the top with a best time of 1m47.055, considerably faster than the fastest FP1 time 12 months earlier. Plenty of drivers struggled out on track, particularly under braking. There were plenty of lock-ups as drivers pushed to find the limit, with several having to take the escape road to avoid colliding with the barriers.
Giedo van der Garde kissed the wall at the exit of turn 12 with Webber also tapping the barriers at turn 21. By the chequered flag, it was Hamilton who remained out in front with his earlier best time, set on the medium compound tyres. Webber was three tenths back with Vettel five tenths slower still.
Rosberg and Raikkonen rounded out the top five, both over one second down on leader Hamilton. Grosjean recovered from earlier issues - he was stuck in the garage for quite some time early on - to finish in sixth with Alonso, Perez, Vergne and Gutierrez completing the top 10. Bianchi and Chilton finished ahead of both Caterham's in the battle at the back.
FP2
The second 90 minute session of the race weekend took place under star studded skies and the bright lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Adrian Sutil was the first car out on track with a busier start to the session after a quiet first practice.
Sutil was also first to set a lap time before being displaced by Sergio Perez. Button moved to the front before his time was smashed by Sebastian Vettel on a 1m46.843.
After starting off on the medium compound rubber, Daniel Ricciardo was the first to driver of the weekend to move over to the super-soft Pirelli tyres. His first time of 1m46.406 was good enough for second place on his first run.
Vettel soon emerged on the red-banded 'option' tyre to go fastest, 1.4 seconds ahead of team-mate Mark Webber - who had earlier moved to the top - and 2.2 seconds up on his time on the medium compound.
Maldonado was the first driver of the weekend to properly collide with the Singapore barriers, sliding into the wall at turn 13 during his race run on the super-soft compound tyres. He managed to get it going again with a damaged front wing and continued on his way shortly after.
The chequered flag emerged and there was no change at the front after the majority of the field switched to the prime tyre to close the session. Vettel's best time of 1m44.249 was six tenths clear of team-mate Mark Webber. Rosberg and Hamilton finished in third and fourth, both a second clear.
Behind them, the times were a lot closer with Grosjean - who lost time during the session due to a mechanical problem - finishing three tenths ahead of Alonso. Button and Raikkonen finished just behind the Spaniard in the time sheets with Sutil and Perez completing the top 10.
FP3
The final practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend kicked off under the setting Singapore sun, with a flurry of drivers emerging to complete their installation laps.
Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver out on track, swiftly followed out of the pit lane by Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg. Charles Pic was the first driver to complete a lap time with a 1m52.954. He didn't hold the top spot for long through with Maldonado and Ricciardo soon moving to the fore.
Di Resta had a half spin 20 minutes into the session and drivers continued to lock up under braking. By the half-way mark, Lewis Hamilton was sitting pretty at the top of the time sheets with a 1m46.514.
With 10 minutes remaining, drivers moved on to the super-soft tyres for the first time in the 60 minute session, finishing their running with a qualifying run. By the chequered flag, it was Sebastian Vettel who finished on top with a 1m44.173. Romain Grosjean finished two tenths back with Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton completing the top five.
Alonso was a second down on Vettel in sixth, just ahead of Perez, Hulkenberg, Button and Massa. Raikkonen could only manage 12th and the Force India's were well down in 16th and 18th for Di Resta and Sutil. Giedo van der Garde was the fastest of the backmarkers, 4.8 seconds down on Vettel's best time. Pic, Bianchi and Chilton rounded out the results.
Qualifying
Q1
The green light for the first qualifying session of the Singapore Grand Prix arrived, but the pit lane was eerily silent before a handful of drivers emerged to kick start their qualifying running.
Pastor Maldonado was the first driver out on track, using the medium compound Pirelli tyre to set his first lap time - a 1m48.458. Di Resta, Raikkonen - who was nursing a painful back - and Sutil all slotted in behind the Venezuelan before Hamilton moved to the top on his first attempt.
By the half way stage it was Nico Rosberg who had moved to the top on a 1m46.288 ahead of Alonso, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Button. Sauber's driver duo were the first to go for the super-soft tyres, Hulkenberg going nine tenths faster than Rosberg's best time on the medium compound.
Vettel stayed in the garage for quite some time before emerging to go second on the medium compound, Red Bull feeling confident enough not to switch to the super-softs. Webber then went fastest as the Mercedes duo switched to the red-banded option tyre.
The times started to tumble with Rosberg, Perez, Button and Hamilton all moving to the top in close succession, the latter setting a 1m44.196. The Brit remained at the top of the time sheets by the chequered flag with Button moving up to second and Alonso rounding out the top three.
Webber and Vettel remained in the garage and finished in sixth and seventh. Gutierrez moved out of the drop zone to go 10th with Massa also progressing in 13th. Di Resta and Maldonado weren't so luck, dropping out in Q1 alongside Pic, van der Garde, Bianchi and Chilton.
Q2
The second part of qualifying began in a similarly quiet style to Q1, drivers not keen on heading out on track in the early stages. Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver out in track in Q2 with Jean-Eric Vergne, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton following suit – all on the super-softs.
Raikkonen crossed the line to post the first lap time of the session, a 1m44.794 that was swiftly displaced by Nico Rosberg’s first effort which dipped into the 1m43’s.
Vettel emerged for his first lap on the super-softs tyres, moving him to the head of the field with a 1m42.905. Romain Grosjean went fourth, one second off the pace, with Webber slotting in eight tenths down on his team-mate in second place.
With two minutes remaining, Rosberg and Hamilton felt safe enough to remain in the garage on a high 1m43. Button and Perez emerged on track for their sole runs of the session, moving up to 10th and 13th respectively.
It was a frantic end to the session. Vettel maintained his position, as did team-mate Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton. However behind it was all change with Grosjean moving up to fifth. Alonso made it through in sixth with an impressive Gutierrez, Massa, Ricciardo and Button also progressing.
Hulkenberg just missed out on a spot in the top 10 shoot-out, qualifying 11th. Vergne was 12th with Raikkonen springing a surprise in 13th. Perez dropped to 14th with Sutil and Bottas rounding out the results.
Q3
So the top 10 shoot-out arrived as the race for pole reached its final stage. It was a race to the first corner for a handful of drivers who queued at the pit lane exit, eager to emerge and set a benchmark lap around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Sebastian Vettel was the first driver to get a time on the board, putting in a 1m42.841 to go top. Rosberg and Webber went six tenths down with Hamilton and Grosjean slotting in behind, both a second off the pace.
With three minutes remaining, Massa was released onto the circuit for his sole run of the session. He was followed out by the Webber, Grosjean, the Mercedes pairing and Jenson Button's McLaren.
Red Bull felt confident in Vettel's benchmark, keeping him in the garage as his rivals departed to challenge his fastest time. Felipe Massa slotted in to sixth place on the grid with his only lap of Q3.
Rosberg crossed the line to go second, just nine hundredths down on Vettel. Webber went three tenths down as Vettel watched on, before Hamilton crossed the line to go fourth on the grid.Grosjean displaced the Brit to take third with Alonso, Button and Ricciardo setting the seventh, eighth and ninth fastest laps of the session. Gutierrez failed to set a time and took 10th.
Results:
So it arrived, the only night race on the 2013 calendar and what a stunning race it was. With the beautiful backdrop of the night-time Singapore skyline and after a dramatic qualifying session, we were all set for a fantastic race.
The stars were out in force on the grid ahead of one of the most highly anticipated and glamorous races of the season. There was a unique and special atmosphere ahead of the race, with plenty hoping someone could challenge Vettel at the front.
Plenty of people were predicting a mix up in strategy prior to the race, with plenty of scope on the medium and super-soft Pirelli tyres.
Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton had given themselves plenty of work to do after qualifying with Rosberg hoping to take the fight to his countryman Sebastian Vettel from his front row grid slot. With plenty of high expectations, the world's best racing drivers took to the track for 61 laps of the Marina Bay Street Circuit in hot, humid and clear conditions.
As the sun disappeared behind the Singapore skyline, the revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Off the line, pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel got a clean start but Rosberg had a better one from the dirty side of the grid, taking the challenge to Vettel into turn one.
However, the German ran wide at turn two which gifted Vettel the inside line for the following left-hander, having to concede his short-lived lead to the Red Bull Racing driver. Ricciardo had a terrible start from ninth on the grid but it was Alonso who made up the most ground, moving from seventh to third after taking the outside line into turn one.
Hamilton took to the run-off at turn two, challenging Massa before getting past around the outside - and with all four wheels over the white line - at turn seven. Perez had a flying first lap, moving up to tenth after displacing Gutierrez into turn 10. Rather surprisingly, it was a clean first lap around the tight and twisty street circuit.
By the end of the first lap, Vettel had eked out a clear advantage over Rosberg as the Mercedes driver battled to reclaim the lead after holding it for just a few seconds into turn one.
Hamilton was instructed to give Felipe Massa sixth back after his off-track overtake at turn seven. He pulled to one side on the run to turn four, being careful not to lose out to anyone else in his bid to comply with the instructions given to him by his Mercedes team.
As the cars crossed the line to start lap three, Vettel already had a four second advantage over the trailing Rosberg. Alonso was a further 1.5 seconds back and Webber had moved up to fourth after losing out to Romain Grosjean on lap one.
Raikkonen continued to make progress after his lowly grid position. He passed Di Resta on lap four before displacing Gutierrez on the following lap. By that time, the two leaders had managed to distance themselves from the chasing pack with Alonso, Webber and Grosjean running close together in third, fourth and fifth.
Drivers seemed to be holding the pace, looking after the tyres as the majority attempted to make a two-stop strategy. As lap seven kick started, Vettel's commanding lead continued to increase as he led Rosberg by 6.666 seconds.
Alonso continued to fall away from the leading duo and Webber was told to drop off the back of the Spaniard in order to save tyre wear. At the back of the pack, Giedo van der Garde was holding Valtteri Bottas at bay after passing his team-mate and the Finn on the first lap.
The pit window opened on lap 11 with Kimi Raikkonen taking to the pit lane for a fresh set of super-soft tyres. Prior to his stop, the Finn's sector times had dropped off the pace after his earlier charge. It was looking at a three-stop strategy with drivers reporting higher than predicted tyre degradation.
Gutierrez pitted on the following lap with Jean-Eric Vergne following him in. Fernando Alonso started to set the pace in third place, edging closer to Rosberg as his team-mate Felipe Massa pitted on lap 12 for a set of medium compound Pirelli tyres.
Jules Bianchi pitted for the second time on the same lap after a gear selection problem meant he needed a new steering wheel. Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg all slowed to 60km/h to take their second stops at the end of lap 13.
Alonso took to the pit lane on the following lap, emerging behind Paul Di Resta's Force India. Perez also pitted, rejoining behind Raikkonen and Hulkenberg after the pit stop sequence. Rosberg pitted on the following lap, Mercedes double-stacking their drivers and bringing in Lewis Hamilton too.
Massa and Di Resta pitted on the following lap, leaving in the order that they arrived in. Hamilton took to his pit box on lap 43 with race leader Vettel moving on to the super-soft tyres in his second stop on lap 44.
Rosberg and Hamilton displaced Hulkenberg on lap 55 with Webber displacing Button into turn one on lap 56. It was a frantic end to the race with drivers on fresh tyres moving through the pack. Vettel led the field by 20 seconds with Alonso 15 seconds clear of Kimi Raikkonen.
 |
| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
Check out my preview of the Singapore Grand Prix for an in-depth look at the race weekend, track and expectations. Also, be sure to have a read of my One Year Rewind looking back at last years race and my '5 things you didn't know about the Singapore Grand Prix' post for Car Throttle. Photography fans, take a look at my favourite images from the race weekend and for all the driver reaction, go here.
With a 3.152 mile street circuit and 23 corners to tackle, the Marina Bay Street Circuit is a challenge for even the best of drivers. Under the stars, round 13 of the Formula 1 world championship got underway with some explosive on-track action.
FP1
The first practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend started off in a rather quiet fashion. The action soon got underway under the darkening evening skies, but fans had to wait over half an hour for the first timed lap.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Hamilton then moved to the top with a best time of 1m47.055, considerably faster than the fastest FP1 time 12 months earlier. Plenty of drivers struggled out on track, particularly under braking. There were plenty of lock-ups as drivers pushed to find the limit, with several having to take the escape road to avoid colliding with the barriers.
Giedo van der Garde kissed the wall at the exit of turn 12 with Webber also tapping the barriers at turn 21. By the chequered flag, it was Hamilton who remained out in front with his earlier best time, set on the medium compound tyres. Webber was three tenths back with Vettel five tenths slower still.
Rosberg and Raikkonen rounded out the top five, both over one second down on leader Hamilton. Grosjean recovered from earlier issues - he was stuck in the garage for quite some time early on - to finish in sixth with Alonso, Perez, Vergne and Gutierrez completing the top 10. Bianchi and Chilton finished ahead of both Caterham's in the battle at the back.
FP2
The second 90 minute session of the race weekend took place under star studded skies and the bright lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Adrian Sutil was the first car out on track with a busier start to the session after a quiet first practice.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Sutil was also first to set a lap time before being displaced by Sergio Perez. Button moved to the front before his time was smashed by Sebastian Vettel on a 1m46.843.
After starting off on the medium compound rubber, Daniel Ricciardo was the first to driver of the weekend to move over to the super-soft Pirelli tyres. His first time of 1m46.406 was good enough for second place on his first run.
Vettel soon emerged on the red-banded 'option' tyre to go fastest, 1.4 seconds ahead of team-mate Mark Webber - who had earlier moved to the top - and 2.2 seconds up on his time on the medium compound.
Maldonado was the first driver of the weekend to properly collide with the Singapore barriers, sliding into the wall at turn 13 during his race run on the super-soft compound tyres. He managed to get it going again with a damaged front wing and continued on his way shortly after.
The chequered flag emerged and there was no change at the front after the majority of the field switched to the prime tyre to close the session. Vettel's best time of 1m44.249 was six tenths clear of team-mate Mark Webber. Rosberg and Hamilton finished in third and fourth, both a second clear.
Behind them, the times were a lot closer with Grosjean - who lost time during the session due to a mechanical problem - finishing three tenths ahead of Alonso. Button and Raikkonen finished just behind the Spaniard in the time sheets with Sutil and Perez completing the top 10.
FP3
The final practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend kicked off under the setting Singapore sun, with a flurry of drivers emerging to complete their installation laps.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Di Resta had a half spin 20 minutes into the session and drivers continued to lock up under braking. By the half-way mark, Lewis Hamilton was sitting pretty at the top of the time sheets with a 1m46.514.
With 10 minutes remaining, drivers moved on to the super-soft tyres for the first time in the 60 minute session, finishing their running with a qualifying run. By the chequered flag, it was Sebastian Vettel who finished on top with a 1m44.173. Romain Grosjean finished two tenths back with Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton completing the top five.
Alonso was a second down on Vettel in sixth, just ahead of Perez, Hulkenberg, Button and Massa. Raikkonen could only manage 12th and the Force India's were well down in 16th and 18th for Di Resta and Sutil. Giedo van der Garde was the fastest of the backmarkers, 4.8 seconds down on Vettel's best time. Pic, Bianchi and Chilton rounded out the results.
Qualifying
Q1
The green light for the first qualifying session of the Singapore Grand Prix arrived, but the pit lane was eerily silent before a handful of drivers emerged to kick start their qualifying running.
Pastor Maldonado was the first driver out on track, using the medium compound Pirelli tyre to set his first lap time - a 1m48.458. Di Resta, Raikkonen - who was nursing a painful back - and Sutil all slotted in behind the Venezuelan before Hamilton moved to the top on his first attempt.
.jpg) |
| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
By the half way stage it was Nico Rosberg who had moved to the top on a 1m46.288 ahead of Alonso, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Button. Sauber's driver duo were the first to go for the super-soft tyres, Hulkenberg going nine tenths faster than Rosberg's best time on the medium compound.
Vettel stayed in the garage for quite some time before emerging to go second on the medium compound, Red Bull feeling confident enough not to switch to the super-softs. Webber then went fastest as the Mercedes duo switched to the red-banded option tyre.
The times started to tumble with Rosberg, Perez, Button and Hamilton all moving to the top in close succession, the latter setting a 1m44.196. The Brit remained at the top of the time sheets by the chequered flag with Button moving up to second and Alonso rounding out the top three.
Webber and Vettel remained in the garage and finished in sixth and seventh. Gutierrez moved out of the drop zone to go 10th with Massa also progressing in 13th. Di Resta and Maldonado weren't so luck, dropping out in Q1 alongside Pic, van der Garde, Bianchi and Chilton.
Q2
The second part of qualifying began in a similarly quiet style to Q1, drivers not keen on heading out on track in the early stages. Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver out in track in Q2 with Jean-Eric Vergne, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton following suit – all on the super-softs.
 |
| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Vettel emerged for his first lap on the super-softs tyres, moving him to the head of the field with a 1m42.905. Romain Grosjean went fourth, one second off the pace, with Webber slotting in eight tenths down on his team-mate in second place.
With two minutes remaining, Rosberg and Hamilton felt safe enough to remain in the garage on a high 1m43. Button and Perez emerged on track for their sole runs of the session, moving up to 10th and 13th respectively.
It was a frantic end to the session. Vettel maintained his position, as did team-mate Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton. However behind it was all change with Grosjean moving up to fifth. Alonso made it through in sixth with an impressive Gutierrez, Massa, Ricciardo and Button also progressing.
Hulkenberg just missed out on a spot in the top 10 shoot-out, qualifying 11th. Vergne was 12th with Raikkonen springing a surprise in 13th. Perez dropped to 14th with Sutil and Bottas rounding out the results.
Q3
So the top 10 shoot-out arrived as the race for pole reached its final stage. It was a race to the first corner for a handful of drivers who queued at the pit lane exit, eager to emerge and set a benchmark lap around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
With three minutes remaining, Massa was released onto the circuit for his sole run of the session. He was followed out by the Webber, Grosjean, the Mercedes pairing and Jenson Button's McLaren.
Red Bull felt confident in Vettel's benchmark, keeping him in the garage as his rivals departed to challenge his fastest time. Felipe Massa slotted in to sixth place on the grid with his only lap of Q3.
Rosberg crossed the line to go second, just nine hundredths down on Vettel. Webber went three tenths down as Vettel watched on, before Hamilton crossed the line to go fourth on the grid.Grosjean displaced the Brit to take third with Alonso, Button and Ricciardo setting the seventh, eighth and ninth fastest laps of the session. Gutierrez failed to set a time and took 10th.
Results:
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.841s 2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m42.932s +0.091s 3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m43.058s +0.217s 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m43.152s +0.311s 5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m43.254s +0.413s 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m43.890s +1.049s 7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m43.938s +1.097s 8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.282s +1.441s 9. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m44.439s +1.598s 10. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari No time set Q2 cut-off time: 1m44.555s Gap ** 11. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.555s +1.650s 12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m44.588s +1.683s 13. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m44.658s +1.753s 14. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.752s +1.847s 15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m45.185s +2.280s 16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m45.388s +2.483s Q1 cut-off time: 1m45.982s Gap * 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m46.121s +1.925s 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m46.619s +2.423s 19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m48.111s +3.915s 20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m48.320s +4.124s 21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.830s +4.634s 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.930s +4.734s 107% time: 1m51.489s
The RaceSo it arrived, the only night race on the 2013 calendar and what a stunning race it was. With the beautiful backdrop of the night-time Singapore skyline and after a dramatic qualifying session, we were all set for a fantastic race.
 |
| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
Plenty of people were predicting a mix up in strategy prior to the race, with plenty of scope on the medium and super-soft Pirelli tyres.
Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton had given themselves plenty of work to do after qualifying with Rosberg hoping to take the fight to his countryman Sebastian Vettel from his front row grid slot. With plenty of high expectations, the world's best racing drivers took to the track for 61 laps of the Marina Bay Street Circuit in hot, humid and clear conditions.
As the sun disappeared behind the Singapore skyline, the revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Off the line, pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel got a clean start but Rosberg had a better one from the dirty side of the grid, taking the challenge to Vettel into turn one.
However, the German ran wide at turn two which gifted Vettel the inside line for the following left-hander, having to concede his short-lived lead to the Red Bull Racing driver. Ricciardo had a terrible start from ninth on the grid but it was Alonso who made up the most ground, moving from seventh to third after taking the outside line into turn one.
Hamilton took to the run-off at turn two, challenging Massa before getting past around the outside - and with all four wheels over the white line - at turn seven. Perez had a flying first lap, moving up to tenth after displacing Gutierrez into turn 10. Rather surprisingly, it was a clean first lap around the tight and twisty street circuit.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Hamilton was instructed to give Felipe Massa sixth back after his off-track overtake at turn seven. He pulled to one side on the run to turn four, being careful not to lose out to anyone else in his bid to comply with the instructions given to him by his Mercedes team.
As the cars crossed the line to start lap three, Vettel already had a four second advantage over the trailing Rosberg. Alonso was a further 1.5 seconds back and Webber had moved up to fourth after losing out to Romain Grosjean on lap one.
Raikkonen continued to make progress after his lowly grid position. He passed Di Resta on lap four before displacing Gutierrez on the following lap. By that time, the two leaders had managed to distance themselves from the chasing pack with Alonso, Webber and Grosjean running close together in third, fourth and fifth.
Drivers seemed to be holding the pace, looking after the tyres as the majority attempted to make a two-stop strategy. As lap seven kick started, Vettel's commanding lead continued to increase as he led Rosberg by 6.666 seconds.
Alonso continued to fall away from the leading duo and Webber was told to drop off the back of the Spaniard in order to save tyre wear. At the back of the pack, Giedo van der Garde was holding Valtteri Bottas at bay after passing his team-mate and the Finn on the first lap.
The pit window opened on lap 11 with Kimi Raikkonen taking to the pit lane for a fresh set of super-soft tyres. Prior to his stop, the Finn's sector times had dropped off the pace after his earlier charge. It was looking at a three-stop strategy with drivers reporting higher than predicted tyre degradation.
Gutierrez pitted on the following lap with Jean-Eric Vergne following him in. Fernando Alonso started to set the pace in third place, edging closer to Rosberg as his team-mate Felipe Massa pitted on lap 12 for a set of medium compound Pirelli tyres.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Alonso took to the pit lane on the following lap, emerging behind Paul Di Resta's Force India. Perez also pitted, rejoining behind Raikkonen and Hulkenberg after the pit stop sequence. Rosberg pitted on the following lap, Mercedes double-stacking their drivers and bringing in Lewis Hamilton too.
Maldonado, Perez and Hulkenberg were involved in a feisty
scrap through the second sector, the latter two making slight contact. Webber
had closed in on Fernando Alonso by lap 17 thanks to the Spaniard being bottled
up behind Di Resta’s Force India.
Sebastian Vettel could seemingly run whatever strategy he
wanted, responding to his “box, box, box” command on lap 18 for a fresh set of
medium compound tyres. He exited the pit lane just as his nearest challenger
tackled the final corner, looking at ease in the lead.
Hulkenberg was radioed by his team, telling him to give
Perez the position back after the German ran wide and over the white line at
turn seven. The Sauber driver seemed to disagree with the command but duly
responded, slowing to allow Perez by on lap 19.
Fernando Alonso was unleashed from behind Di Resta's Force India on lap 20 when the Scot took to his pit box for his first stop of the 61-lap race. However, the Spaniard was still involved in a close battle for the final podium with Webber, Grosjean and Hamilton all closing in on the Ferrari driver.
After one third of the race, Vettel had a 10 second lead over Rosberg as he continued to dominate at the front of the pack. The hot battle out on track was between Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button, who were both on the super-soft tyres.
The race was neutralised on lap 25 after the safety car was deployed, continuing its 100% record at Singapore Grand Prix's. Daniel Ricciardo locked up his front-left into the turn 18 chicane, crashing into the barrier and causing the deployment of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
 |
| (c) Caterham F1 Team |
That created a very busy pit lane with the majority of the field filing in for their second pit stops. Raikkonen and Perez were both delayed in their respective pit boxes due to traffic coming down the pit lane. The top four, who all put on the medium compound tyre at their first stops, remained out on track alongside Paul Di Resta.
The Force India driver was the big winner from the safety car period, jumping from 13th to seventh. The safety car took to the pit lane at the end of lap 30, restarting the race with Sebastian Vettel at the head of the field. He dropped the gun at turn 18, getting a decent jump on Nico Rosberg as the racing resumed.
The positions remained unchanged after the first lap of resumed racing with Vettel leading Rosberg, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso and Grosjean. By lap 33, he had a 5.5 second advantage over his nearest rivals and was told to push further.
Grosjean pitted on lap 34 after his team radioed to say there was a problem with air consumption. The Frenchman exclaimed "No!" on the radio in annoyance, fitting a fresh set of medium tyres. It wasn't a swift process, sitting in the pits for nearly one minute as the problem was resolved.
The battle for third was heating up with Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Di Resta and Massa separated by just under four seconds. Button and Raikkonen also joined the party as Gutierrez dropped behind Sutil after running onto the marbles and off the circuit at the final corner.
Giedo van der Garde was doing a storming job for Caterham, reclaiming 16th from Bottas on lap 36. As the cars crossed the line to start lap 38, Vettel had a 16 second lead over Rosberg as the Mercedes driver fell into the clutches of Webber. Grosjean's race went from bad to worse as his engine problem worsened, retiring from the race on that lap.
Webber pitted for the second time on lap 41, his Red Bull mechanics fitting the medium compound tyre for his final stint. Rosberg pitted on the following lap but lost out to the Aussie through the pit stop sequence, dropping to third place.
 |
| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
The triple world champion emerged six seconds clear of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was attempting to go to the end on the tyres that his Ferrari mechanics fitted during the safety car period. Button, Raikkonen and Perez were all on the same strategy.
Webber started to make his way through the field, passing Gutierrez - who was also trying to go to the end - on lap 49. Rosberg had closed in on the Mexican too and overtook into the new turn 10. Hamilton also displaced the Sauber driver into turn 14 as he took the fight to those ahead.
Gutierrez continued to drop down the field, losing out to Di Resta and Massa on the following lap. It wasn't all plain sailing for Vettel at the front, his RB9 was suffering from brake vibrations and he was told to prioritise nursing the issue.
Button and Raikkonen were involved in a spicy battle for third place, both drivers still on the tyres fitting during the safety car period. Further back, Webber had caught up with Hulkenberg by lap 53 on fresher rubber. He had to wait until the following lap to get past the German and into sixth place.
Webber was soon onto the gearbox of Sergio Perez, the McLaren struggling on worn tyres. Meanwhile his team-mate Jenson Button dropped behind Kimi Raikkonen after a stunning move around the outside at turn 14 by the Finn.
Di Resta went wide at turn seven, colliding with the barrier and losing his front wing. He stopped the engine, retiring from the race after looking like he was on course for a points finish.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Rosberg made his way past Perez for sixth place before
moving ahead of Jenson Button later in the lap. Hamilton made his way past the
man who replaced him at McLaren before also progressing past Button.
Webber was nursing a gearbox problem, short-shifting and
losing out to Nico Rosberg. He radioed on the final lap to say he was "in
trouble" and had to let Hamilton past as well. Despite the mechanical
issue, Webber tried to nurse his car home but his race came to a premature end,
his Red Bull RB9 up in flames. It was a dramatic end to the race, but for
Vettel it looked easy at the front.
Despite earlier fears, the race ran to its full 61-lap
distance as Vettel crossed the line to take his third consecutive Singapore
Grand Prix victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
So it was another Sebastian Vettel victory, his third
consecutive victory this season and his third win in Singapore. It was a
stunning piece of driving from the German who looked dominant out front, finishing
32 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso despite a mid-race safety car.
Alonso managed to eke out his tyre life to finish in second
place, helped by the slow pace of those behind. He had a storming start to move
up to third place before staying out while those who hadn't pitted during the
safety car did so. This helped him jump to second and he stayed in that
position until the chequered flag.
His team-mate for 2014, Kimi Raikkonen, nursed a bad back to
finish in third place. He managed to pull off the same strategy as Alonso but
he failed to make up any ground at the start, having to work his way through
the field before pitting during the safety car period. He showed some
impressive pace on worn tyres to cross the line almost nine seconds clear of
Rosberg in fourth.
The Mercedes driver had held the lead for just a handful of
seconds after a brilliant getaway from the grid. He ran deep into turn two and
that let Vettel back past. He still performed well and completed some stunning
overtaking moves to finish in a strong position by the chequered flag. Lewis
Hamilton finished two seconds back in fifth, not making any progress from his
grid position.
The Brit looked feisty in the closing stages, having a go at
his team-mate but ultimately dropping back. It was a good recovery drive from
the Mercedes duo to get through the slower cars at the end in what was a
frantic closing few laps.
Massa crossed the line in sixth place to take a good helping
of points. Like Hamilton, he maintained his starting position by the chequered
flag but drove maturely and kept his head together to move ahead of Button and
Perez.
 |
| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
The McLaren duo advanced thanks to Webber's problems. Button
was struggling severely in the closing stages but held off his team-mate,
Hulkenberg and Sutil to finish in seventh place. It was a double point's finish
for McLaren and the two cars looked stronger than in recent races.
Hulkenberg finished in ninth place after dropping back in
the final stint and Sutil rose to 10th, Force India's first point since
Belgium. Maldonado finished in 11th place, four seconds down on Sutil, with
Gutierrez showing improved form in 12th place.
Bottas had a terrible first stint but managed to finish in
13th place, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne. Mark Webber was classified in 15th place
despite not crossing the finish line. His race came to a fiery end but he
managed to catch a lift back to the pits on the rather hot sidepod of Fernando
Alonso.
Giedo van der Garde raced well to finish ahead of his
closest rivals in 16th place. Chilton finished in 17th place and ahead of Jules
Bianchi, who struggled all race with steering problems. Pic finished in 19th
place with Di Resta being classified in 20th despite crashing out with seven
laps to go.
Grosjean retired mid-way through the race with Ricciardo
crashing at turn 18, bringing out the safety car.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h59m13.132s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +32.627s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault +43.920s
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +51.155s
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +53.159s
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari +1m03.877s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +1m23.354s
8. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes +1m23.820s
9. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari +1m24.2261s
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1m24.668s
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault +1m28.479s
12. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1m37.894s
13. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault +1m45.161s
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1m53.512
15. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +1 lap
16. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault +1 lap
17. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
19. Chales Pic Caterham-Renault +1 lap
20. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes +6 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1m48.574s
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 38
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 24
No comments:
Post a Comment